Top Investigator for JonBenet Killing Replaced

The lead investigator in the JonBenet Ramsey slaying was replaced Friday as the police chief acknowledged for the first time that missteps were made early in the case.

"It is accurate to say if we had it to do all over again, we would do it differently," police chief Tom Koby said. "At the same time, we responded the best we could."

Detectives who arrived first at the Ramsey home on Dec. 26, thought the 6-year-old beauty queen had been kidnapped, not killed, and "did what was necessary to manage a kidnapping situation," Koby said.

Critics of the investigation have said police allowed the crime scene to be trampled and permitted JonBenet's father to look for the body, which he found and moved.

Koby named Cmdr. Mark Beckner to head the investigation and said three investigators were being added, making a total of eight who will concentrate solely on the case.

Beckner will take over from Cmdr. John Eller, who had been running the detective bureau while also looking for JonBenet's killer.